Jason | A somewhat strange buffet
One year, I have forgotten which year it was, probably 2015. The late night canteen was already very busy, because Sister Hua had come, and Renmin Road, where stalls had to be competed for, was no longer suitable for her. Shu Yang was idle in Dali, and often came to fry fish and chips during the day, and Wang Yang had gone to the United States.
Honghong received a call from an event company that wanted to find someone to prepare cold dishes. Because an international sports brand donated a basketball court in a remote poor village in Dali, they were going to hold an inauguration ceremony, and some senior staff from the Asia-Pacific region were going to attend. I think there were not many Western restaurants in Dali at that time, or maybe it was because the fashionable name "manolito's fish & chips " gave the other party hope. In fact, Wang Yang and Honghong opened this store because they didn't know how to cook, but wanted to open a restaurant in Dali, so they chose the simplest category of fish and chips. This idea came about a year before coming to Dali, when we often went to a new fish and chips restaurant on Yongkang Road.
The other party asked Honghong if she would make cold dishes for 80 people, and she said: Yes. She also took charge of the flower arrangement at the event. If it were an ordinary person, they would not dare to accept the job, or would hesitate, which would also make the other party hesitate. After the call, she told us that she had accepted the job, but she didn't know what to do or how to do it. Of course, there were no staff, and she was running a fish and chip shop alone at that time. We were all shocked.
On that day, the staff consisted of all the people in our late night restaurant, plus Luo Tingwen, Du Xiaofu, Shu Yang, Shasha who came to travel, and Monkey who often came to the store to play. After taking a nap after the night shift, before dawn, we got into Luo Tingwen and Shu Yang's two cars and set off, a total of 10 people. We loaded the cold dishes that Honghong learned to make temporarily, some purchased desserts, fruits, flowers, plates, bowls, cups and other utensils from the store, put on the black shirt she had just bought online as a uniform, and rushed to the village 60 kilometers away. After entering the mountains, it was still bumpy for a while.
In the classroom at school, some of us prepared fruits, some made sandwiches, some carried things, set up tables, and some served as waiters, moving among the crowd or standing there to provide services at any time. Surprisingly, we completed everything in an orderly manner. Then we were very excited and packed up the props, took photos, and played for a long time in the classroom. That day, we didn't pay much attention to who was outside and what the meaning was. We seriously played the role of professional employees of our cold catering company.
At that time, all of us felt incredible when we heard that she took on this job, but in the end, Honghong successfully completed it with her hard work. Of course, what is even more incredible is that two years later, Honghong has become a professional cold meal supplier, able to make beautiful and delicious cold meals. Moreover, she is still alone, and she asks good friends around her to help her.
Now that I think about it, we were all like free actors, following Hong Hong to act in a play, bizarre and youthful. At that time, I thought it was just an ordinary life, but now I know it is far from that. My memory is getting worse, but I can always remember that day.
